how to say the names of five irish wildflowers

Lets learn the Irish names of five types of beautiful flower that grow wild in the fields and forests of Ireland!

1. Daisy

First up is daisy. The Irish for daisy is nóinín /noh-in-een/. The ox-eye daisy is known as nóinín mór /noh-in-een moor/ (‘big daisy’). Another well-known member of the daisy faimily is the sunflower. In Irish the sunflower is called
nóinín na gréine/noh-in-een nuh gray-in-eh/ (‘daisy of the sun’).

2. Dandelion

The second flower on our list is dandelion, which in Irish is called caisearbhán /kash-ur-vawn/. The term caisearbhán is also used figuratively to refer to a ‘sour person’!

3. Primrose

Flower number three is primrose. This beautiful little yellow flower is called sabhaircín /sow-irr-keen/. As a child I was fond of eating them straight from the ditch near my home in West Kerry!

4. Daffodil

Next comes the daffodil. In Irish we call this noble flower lus an chromchinn /luss un khrum-kheen/. It gets its name from the way that the flower heads hang facing downwards from the main stem. Lus is a word that means plant or herb, and an chrom-chinn means ‘of the bowed head’. So, daffodil is the ‘plant of the bowed head’!

5. Harebell

Our fifth and final flower is the dainty harebell. In Irish we call this méaracán gorm /may-ur-ak-awn gur-um/. This playful name translates as ‘blue thimble’.

Now check out our blog on how to say the names of 5 trees native to Ireland in Irish!